actually............... I started cutting swinging beef right from the tractor forks. My day job is alll boxed meat. Last time I took my old boss out to cut farm raised. I needed him to show me a few things that I wasn't sure on. I took my camera for reference photos :)
Never had much time to. I've butchered my own deer though. Gives me a little insight on the beef. There is no one more valuable in the meat shop though who has worked the slaughterhouse, and the retail meat shop. Knowing both sides helps for both places.
never cut hanging beef professionally have done some deer before though. and yes I watch the videos on the site all the time on break beef because i am interested in getting into that. thinking about converting my dads barn into a little butcher shop and cut beef for local farmers...I haven't asked him yet and he'll probably say NO
I spend a lot of time on Youtube going over their posted videos, and I just got Cole Ward's DVD set (which is awesome, and I have watched both discs three times already!). Goal is to be breaking down whole animals by the beginning of next year.
not beef, but veal quarters and whole lamb. but, i do help cut grassfed beef for a friend who buys once a year for his family. this year i am cutting a fore quarter for meself. next year maybe a side, a lamb and a piggy
When I started cutting it was all swinging beef. Our shop owner said boxed beef would never catch on! I miss cutting quarters, don't miss carrying it- we had no rails. I still buy occasional whole animals and show my younger cutters how to break & cut them. Bought Cole's videos last year and send them home with my cutters quite often.
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I'm not a vegetarian, but have eaten many animals that were.
Trained on swinging beef,still prefer it over block ready.I enjoy doing swinging beef on the side besides my job,keeps me in touch with my skills.Block ready I feel does not challange us as meatcutters.
early on, I helped a local wild game processor, cut up deer, moose, bear and caribou- we also did local beef and pigs.... I liked it alot- I came in the afternoon when i wanted, with my large red cup, we all drank beer after 3 and i got paid under the table....it helped on christmas's when my son was young
I learned on hanging beef in high-school when I started at my current job 13 years ago I had no idea how to cut the boxed stuff but after a while I got the hang of it. I hate the hack-n-stacks that think you can just slice it as is without paying any attention to the angle. Boxed beef is rarely broken properly.
I wish I had the opportunity to work on hung-beef. I have watched many videos on meat cutting - but only about 20% of which were whole quarter breakdown. Cole Ward's video's sound fun - I watched him break down a half a sow at the New England Meat Conference ... was impressive :)
called to a friends shop today, there is something nice about walking into a fridge full of hanging beef. he rears kills and cuts his own beef and just buys in boxed if he is short.
Yes I watched some of the video's and I'd love to learn as much as I can, and would actually like to try my hand at it...however I do see this as a dying profession...I love it don't get me wrong, but I can see this being faded out unless you are working for a private farmer or small business,
I've broken down whole rounds but that's all I ever had the oppertunity to do. I'm a youngin though haha. I'm confident I could do a pig without much trouble, an old timer took his time putting together one so to speak from all the boxed pieces to show me how everything fits together and comes apart. I watch videos a lot and try to absorb anything and everything I can. Id love to learn for real someday but its not gonna happen at the supermarket lol some old shops still have the holes for the rails above the doors taunting us haha.
I learned on hanging beef in high-school when I started at my current job 13 years ago I had no idea how to cut the boxed stuff but after a while I got the hang of it. I hate the hack-n-stacks that think you can just slice it as is without paying any attention to the angle. Boxed beef is rarely broken properly.
yea man the old timers taught me how you lose the reference of getting the right angle with the boxed meat and about how the meat "falls". good point. i remember the first time i cut a top round and thinking the piece of meat must suck (because i just cut the broils straight on the face without angling the cut)
